Truth about corn ethanol and Big Oil: My Word

April 2, 2014|By Jan Nichols

David Mica wrote on behalf of his powerful employer, Big Oil, in his contribution to the Orlando Sentinel's Front Burner, "Biofuel requirement fuels debate," on Friday. It was an expert job of fact manipulation and scare tactics.

Yes, food prices have risen, but it's due to oil prices, and here's why: A bushel of corn costs about $4.50. Compare that to a barrel of oil, about $50 in 2005 — doubled to about $100 per barrel today. Did you know there are only a few cents' worth of corn in corn flakes, less than 5 percent of the purchase price? Most of the food cost to consumers is processing, marketing and transportation/distribution. The high price of fuel has driven transportation costs up, and that cost is passed to consumers via higher food prices.

A Big Oil talking-point half-truth is that "ethanol has diverted 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop from food to fuel." This doesn't include the animal feed produced during the ethanol process and ignores the fact that as much as 80 percent of all corn in the U.S. is used for livestock, poultry and fish, not human food, according to the National Corn Growers Association.

WorldCornProduction.com reports that the U.S. is by far the world leader in corn production, with 2014 estimates at 353.7 million metric tons of corn; compare this to other countries' total corn production, such as China, 217.7 MMTs, and Brazil, 70 MMTs.

During the ethanol process, the corn's protein, fiber and oil are passed through as a co-product known as distillers grain, a highly nutritious livestock feed, which is fed to cattle, hogs, poultry and even fish. So both fuel and feed are produced — along with American jobs and reduced dependence on expensive foreign oil.

American farmers make efficient use of existing cropland. My brother nurtures our family farm to achieve yields of more than 250 bushels per acre, compared to 30 bushels per acre during our grandfather's day.

Consumers need to start demanding flexible fuels, which contain ethanol. In Brazil, nearly 90 percent of new cars sold today are flex-fuel due to consumer demand — and 15 automakers offer more than 90 models of flex-fuel vehicles.

Mica praised legislators in Tallahassee for voting to repeal Florida's Renewable Fuel Standard mandate — no matter that it was an empty political gesture since federal standards apply. It looks like a vote to appease the powerful Big Oil lobby and its generous campaign contributions.

Jan Nichols of DeLand is a shareholder in United Wisconsin Grain Producers LLC, which produces corn ethanol.